


Freedom Has Many Meanings

by justaddalittlewhiskeyinmycoffee



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bruce Banner has a kid, F/M, Original Character(s), Original She Hulk Character, Younger Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-03-31 12:18:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13974969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justaddalittlewhiskeyinmycoffee/pseuds/justaddalittlewhiskeyinmycoffee
Summary: Ellie Thomas has a secret, one that makes stress management VERY important. But when an opportunity to live a normal life arises, she takes it- and all the catches that come with it. Some of those might not be all that bad though. Will she risk everything for a chance at happiness?





	1. An Oportunity

“Ellie! Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” I heard my step-dad call for me from the bottom of the stairs.

“Coming Mark!” I quickly shoved my work-out shoes on and ran down to meet him.

“So, have you thought anymore about where you’re going to live for college?” He asked as we headed towards the gym. It was a twenty minute drive to the only decent boxing gym in the county. Thirty if it snowed, as rural New York often did. Luckily, today was bright- or as bright as 5AM gets- and I would only have to suffer through twenty minutes of lecturing.

“In whatever security bunker you put me in over at that isolated, easily containable, bairly accredited cesspool of inadequacy, of course.” I playfully retorted, only half meaning it. I knew that Mark’s security concerns were just, but that didn’t mean I had to like them. And he knew better than to take anything I said before my workout seriously.

“What if I said I found you a regular, normal person apartment?”

“What?” I snapped my head to look at him, my hand instinctively clutching the metal water bottle I was holding, as if it would somehow teather me to the earth as he revealed this groundbreaking information. This was a joke, right?

He was smiling that big Mark ‘i’m up to something’ smile while he drove. 

“A normal apartment? No bunker? Is that safe?”

“Well, there is a catch. Several catches, actually. But I think you’ll like them. I mean, for starters, it’s in Brooklyn, so it’s like 40 minutes from the NYU campus..” His grin just got wider, but I barely noticed.

“What!?” I was screaming “NYU!? But, I thought….”

“I mean, unless you really wanted to go to the… what was it? The ‘barely accredited cesspool of inadequacy?”

“Oh my God, Mark, but how? I mean-”

“We can discuss the details with your mother later.” He said, cutting me off in a clipped tone I recognized as a warning to calm myself and dropping his smile. “But first, we need to get you to the gym.” 

I immediately took a deep breath in, counted to seven, exhaled slowly. Looking down I saw the sturdy metal water bottle I had been holding was crushed in with the force of my grip. The veins on the back of my hands were popping out and turning bright green. My nail beds were already beginning to hint at the color. I knew that if I were to pull down the sun shade and look in the mirror I would see my normally amber brown eyes already flecked through with the shade. Instead, I closed them and focused on my breath, meditating myself back down into an average human with an average life, trying to tame the Hulk within.


	2. Alice

“Alright, then.” I said, smiling and putting down my dinner fork. After going over the details of how I can live in New York and not accidentally smash the city with Mom and Mark over dinner, I was ready for this new challenge, I just hoped it would all work out.

“Do you think you’ll call Alice tonight?” Mom asked, beginning to clear the table.

I was a little afraid of calling her; it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. But it was one I was excited to have. Besides, I had to tell her before we met for our usual lunch tomorrow; she knew me too well and would know something was up if not.

“Actually, I thought I’ll invite her over tonight.” 

“Of course honey.” Mom gave me a reassuring smile. “It is more of a face to face conversation, isn’t it?”

*****

After I called, Alice came over to my house and flopped on my bed, her pink skirt flying around her and her blonde curls spreading out over my bed like a fan.

“What’s up El?” she asked as I sat in the chair by my desk. We’ve spent hours like this: Alice, a sloucher who can never get comfortable, lying on my bed, and me, sitting or standing by my desk. We talk and do homework and watch TV on my laptop. I hoped it wouldn’t change because of what I had to say, making mental notes of everything in case it did. I took a deep breath.

“So, I have some big news.” Alice sat up and tilted her head dramatically. 

“Spill.” She demanded

“So you know how my condition was going to keep me from going to NYU?” As terrified as I was of scaring her- of losing her- couldn’t keep the grin off my face.

“No way!” Alice started bouncing up and down with excitement. “You can go?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s awesome Ellie! We get to go to college together!” 

“Technically we already go to college together.”

“Yeah but it’s community college. It doesn’t count if we still live with our parents.” I could practically see the light bulb go off in her head as she shot up from the bed and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Oh my God we can be roommates!”

“Actually,”

“No! Let me guess, Mark used some of his awesome FBI connections to find us a place with a live in nurse or whatever to make sure that you are” she puffed out her chest and spoke in a deep voice in a horrible impression of my step dad “VERY SAFE.” 

We both giggled at that. Making fun of Mark’s overprotectiveness is one of our favorite pastimes. 

“Yeah, that's basically the gist of things. But there is one more serious thing I have to tell you.” I steered us to sit on the edge of the bed and Alice nodded her head solemnly. “My condition is a bit more… complicated, than I’ve told you. And if we’re going to be roomates you need to know everything.”

“Of course Ellie. You know I’ve always respected that you didn’t want to talk about it, but I want you to know I love you no matter what.” Alice was great with emotions like that. She always knew just what to say, and I loved her for that, more than she knows.

“I’m kind of irrationally nervous.”

“You know I love you no matter what El.” Alice put her hands on mine and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“Okay.” Deep breath. “So, you know how Mark is my step-dad?”

“Yeah”

“My birth dad is Bruce Banner.”

“Okay. But, what does that have to do with your-” Alice stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening. “...oh…. So do you…?”

“Yeah. I turn green and all that.”

Alice stared at the floor for a minute, then cracked a grin and turned to me. “You know, to fix that big of a complexion problem you going to need to use a color corrector AND a concealer, you can’t use just one.”

“You know,” I said “that may be the worst joke in the history of jokes. In fact it doesn’t even get to qualify as a joke. It’s just a statement that wishes it were a joke.” But I couldn’t stop smiling.


End file.
